Midwest Casket Company Building at 440 W 600 South SLC

Midwest Casket Co Building, September 2024.
Note the recently demolished buildings to the east (right). 

Midwest Casket Co Building, September 2024.

The old Midwest Casket Company building at 440 W 600 South is one that you have likely passed by on numerous occasions. It is representative of the transition to modern funeral services, especially among the middle class.

The building was constructed in 1912 (although the Salt Lake County Assessor states 1905) for the Utah Casket Company for the manufacture of caskets, undertaker’s supplies, and a dressmaking department for burial dresses, shrouds, and robes.

The early 1900s was a busy time for the casket industry in SLC. Prior to about 1880, SLC had one primary undertaker – Joseph Edward Taylor (often referred to as the Pioneer Undertaker) and his family. He was appointed by Brigham Young to be the SLC Cemetery Sextant, undertaker, and provide coffins (through his father-in-law, William Capener, who was a cabinet maker).

Slowly, things changed around 1880. In James Farrell’s book “Inventing the American Way of Death 1830-1920” (so interesting!), he indicates the growth of the middle class demanded attention to the deceased “more in accordance with their surroundings,” meaning something more elaborate than a simple box lined with linen. At this same time in SLC, a greater influx of non-Mormons demanded a greater variety of services, commodities, and cemeteries.

Utah Casket Company advertisement showing an elaborate casket, 1913.
Clip from Salt Lake Herald 1913-04-04 Page14

 
At the end of the 1800s, there were a variety of funerary start-up businesses. Most only lasted a few years but several have endured to the modern time (some names you may recognize Evans, O’Donnell, or Larkin). Often, when one of these businesses ended, another would purchase their real estate and equipment, often at auction.

This is what happened with the original occupant of this building; in 1910 a newly incorporated Utah Casket Company acquired the equipment of the Crescent Manufacturing Company. 

Crescent manufactured caskets and its establishment in SLC was a bit of weird situation. Through my reading of the old newspapers articles, it seems that Mr. Edward H. Sherman re-established Crescent Manufacturing Company in SLC in 1908 from Butte, Montana and it seems he did so in order to escape a significant judgement against the company in Butte. In 1910 Sherman sold the equipment and supplies of Crescent in exchange for stock in the Utah Casket Company. At the time, Utah Casket Company was located at 32-36 E 800 South.

A year later, in December 1911, The Utah Casket Company announced it would build a new modern facility to manufacture caskets, undertaker’s supplies, and couches at 440 W 600 South. The two-story building is constructed of brick and cement and was constructed so that a third story could be added if needed. The building was “modern in every detail…with rest and lunchrooms for the employees, which will include a large number of women” who worked in the sewing department creating burial clothing, shrouds, and linings for the caskets. The building formally opened in October 1912.

Utah Casket Factory announcement illustration, January 1912.
Clip from the The Salt Lake Tribune 1912-01-28 Page 11

Utah Casket Company building completion, December 1912
Clip from the Deseret News 1912-12-21 Page 97

 
Two workplace accidents at 440 W 600 South were reported in the newspapers in January 1919. Sixteen year old Rulon Hanson lost his little finger of his left hand while working with the buzz saw and another employee lost four fingers of his right hand while using the same saw.

The Utah Casket Company occupied the building for about 8 years. They exhibited their caskets at the Utah State Fair and won a blue ribbon, which they proudly advertised. Around 1920, Utah Casket Company was defunct.

Around the same time period, there were competing casket business. The Salt Lake Casket Company was incorporated in 1910; this company was associated with Joseph E. Taylor (“Pioneer Undertaker”) and his son Alma O. Taylor and was the successor and outgrowth of Joseph E. Taylor’s operation. 

In 1919, Alma O. Taylor split from Salt Lake Casket Company (run by his brothers Samuel and Joseph Taylor) to form the Intermountain Casket company with Lafayette Holbrook. In 1920 the Intermountain Casket Company opened a new three-story building at 276 W 100 South and is still standing in SLC’s Japantown.

In 1920, it was the Salt Lake Casket Company that acquired the building at 440 W 600 South including the real estate, building, and equipment of the defunct Utah Casket Company. They occupied the building for several years. In 1937 the company was bankrupt and the building, real estate, machinery, fixtures, and equipment were sold at public auction.

Around 1938 the Midwest Casket Company moved into the building. Midwest Casket was associated with brothers Curt and Henry Skola. Midwest Casket occupied the building for decades. It became known for its custom caskets and interiors, including caskets for pets. They provided custom options in an ever-growing market of mass production with limited choices.

A 1991 article from the Salt Lake Tribune interviewed three women who worked as seamstresses at Midwest Casket. They worked in a sunny room on the top floor that was filled with bolts of fabric and antique sewing machines. (The casket production area was on the main floor.)

As an example of how the workplace environment has changed since 1991, there were posters of Chippendale dancers in thong bathing suites covering holes in the walls on one side of the room. In 1968 they provided 35 caskets for an airplane crash at the SLC Airport. They provided caskets for LDS church presidents, local politicians and in 1985 they sent a champagne velvet lined casket for actor Rock Hudson as one of the options for his burial. They are still in business and have relocated to South Salt Lake.

Recently the building and surrounding parcels are undergoing redevelopment as part of the Silos Block project in the Granary District. Many buildings on the block have been or will be demolished, the most notable being the Cereal Foods Silos.

The Midwest Casket building is to be preserved and adaptively reused as a commercial space. The adjacent building to the west (Euro Treasures) will also be preserved and adaptively reused (plans indicate a garage for 117 parking stalls). Rimini Coffee at 532 S 400 West will also remain.

Also of note, the old Portland Cement art-dec style building (554 S 400 West) will be demolished.


Sources

• Sanborn Maps for Salt Lake City, 1898,1911,1926,1950,1969
• Salt Lake Herald Sat, Sep 03, 1910 ·Page 15
• Salt Lake Telegram Thu, Dec 08, 1910 ·Page 10
• Salt Lake Herald Wed, Dec 13, 1911 ·Page 4
• The Salt Lake Tribune Sun, Jan 28, 1912 ·Page 11
• The Salt Lake Tribune Mon, Jul 08, 1912 ·Page 10
• Salt Lake Herald Fri, Oct 04, 1912 ·Page 12
• Deseret News Sat, Dec 21, 1912 ·Page 97
• Deseret News Sat, Apr 05, 1913 ·Page 38
• Salt Lake Herald Fri, Apr 04, 1913 ·Page 14
• Salt Lake Herald Tue, Nov 16, 1915 ·Page 8
• Salt Lake Telegram Fri, Jan 31, 1919 ·Page 13
• Salt Lake Tribune Oct 7 1919 Page 20
• Deseret News 1930-10-26 Page 32
• The Salt Lake Tribune Thu, Dec 31, 1936 ·Page 20
• Salt Lake Telegram Jan 6 1939 Page 16
• Deseret News 1939/05/17 Page 11
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1955-06-24 Page 54
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1980-07-17 Page 103
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1988-03-27 Page 41
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1991-03-11 Page 12
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1943-03-05
• Biennial Report by Utah Secretary of State 1913
• Kate B. Carter, Heart Throbs of the West, 1945, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. 
• James J. Farrell, Inventing the American Way of Death, 1830-1920. 1980. 
• USHS Files for Midwestern Casket Co Building
• USHS Files for Intermountain Casket Co Building
• Salt Lake City, Silo Phase 2 Staff Report - Final, 2023

The 5 statues atop the SLC City and County Building

The statue "Columbia" atop the SLC City and County Building, ca 1894.
Historic photo from USHS.

The five statues atop the SLC City and County Building (451 S State SLC) have an interesting past. The current statues were placed in 1986 and 1989 as part of the massive building restoration effort.

(Fun fact = the City and County building was the first in the nation to be retrofitted with a seismic base isolation system).

The five statues are:

1. “Columbia” is located atop the central clock tower. Columbia was the popular symbol of America before the Statue of Liberty
2. “Liberty” on the north gable
3. “Justice” on the south gable
4. “Commerce” on the east gable
5. “Commerce” on the west gable
   

   
   
   

   The SLC City and County Building in 1905. Note the presence of the statues.
   Historic photo from USHS.

The 5 statues were part of the original building, dedicated in 1894. They were made of pressed zinc and were painted to simulate the sandstone of the building. The original statues were ordered from a catalog at a cost of $325 for Columbia and $300 each for the others.

The catalog may have been the W. H. Mullins Catalogue of Architectural Ornaments and Statuary, which was one of the primary suppliers of zinc statues and located in Salem, Ohio. One of their catalogs can be viewed on archive.org.

The Mullins Company supplied a variety of statues and architectural ornaments to many public buildings at this time. In addition to the five discussed here, depictions of Agriculture, Science, Music, Industry, and Freedom were popular. Some of these original statues on public buildings throughout the US have been restored.

After a large 6.6 earthquake in 1934, Columbia, Liberty, and Justice were damaged and removed (“junked” according to a 1954 Deseret News article) from the City and County Building.

But the two Commerce statues remained until 1954, at which point severe corrosion was found with their iron mountings and they were also removed.

One of the Commerce statues was placed at the SLC Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Memorial Museum storeroom, where it remained until the 1980s (not sure where it is now).

The SLC City and County building was void of its statutes for decades, until the restoration effort of the late 1980s.

The SLC City and County Building in 1972. Note the lack of statues.
Historic photo from USHS.

The first statue to be restored was the centerpiece Columbia in 1986 by artist Richard Young. The first concept of Young was rejected as being “anorexic by 1890s standards.” Young’s second concept plumped up the goddess statue by adding bulk to the shoulders and hips to make it more closely resemble the original catalog model. The new Columbia is made of cast bronze and has a leaden-tin finish.

The Commerce statue on the east gable was also replaced in 1986 and was created by Gordon Lewis Newby and Rudy Chagney. It seems this statue replacement was part of a roofing contract.

The remaining three statues (Commerce on the west, Justice, and Liberty) were able to be replaced because the overall bid to renovate the building came in under budget. That allowed these three statues and some other work, like stone carving restoration, to be completed.

These remaining three statues (Justice, Liberty, and the western Commerce) were created by artist Angelo Caravaglia, whose work I have featured in past posts- the fountain in front of the Bennett Federal Building and the twin bronzes previously attached to the old Mountain Bell Data Center building.

The Justice, Liberty, and Commerce statues are all made of hammered copper sheet (repoussé technique) with a dark patina finish.

As the two Commerce statues were made by different people, they are significantly different in appearance. I have included a possible catalog image for comparison (although the items in the hands are opposite).

Sources:

• Salt Lake Herald Republican 1893-12-08 p5
• Deseret News 1954-06-17 p50
• Daily Spectrum 1986-01-01- p4
• Salt Lake Tribune 1986-08-10 p21
• Daily Spectrum 1986-11-28 p2
• Salt Lake Tribune 1987-02-05 p39
• Salt Lake Tribune 1989-04-23 pg115
• Salt Lake City Corporation Insurance Appraisal by Allen Dodworth Art Appraisal Associates. March 2013.
• City and County Building SHPO file, Utah State Historical Society
• Catalogue of architectural ornaments and statuary, in sheet zinc, brass or copper / manufactured by W.H. Mullins, Salem, Columbiana Co., Ohio. 1894 (from archive.org).
• Zinc sculpture in America, 1850-1950 by Carol A Grisson, 2009. (from archive.org).  

How did Salt Lake City's 300 South become Broadway?

How did 300 South become Broadway?

Salt Lake City's Broadway (300 South), shown here at the intersection with Shelmerdine Ct (235 East).

In 1912, SLC business owners petitioned the SLC Commission (now City Council) to change the name to highlight the newly developed shopping/business district.

This new 300 South business district was significant in that it was located away from the traditional commercial sectors of Main and State Streets. Many new large department stores had recently been constructed such as Auerbach’s, the Paris, Keith-O’Brien, Walker Bros Dry Goods, and other prominent businesses such as the Judge Building, J G McDonald Chocolate Factory, Peery Hotel, and the Colonial Theater (old Yardstick Building). Many of these buildings are still standing.

Two-page spread in the December 8 1912 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune detailing Broadway shopping between Main and State Streets.

Two-page spread in the December 15 1912 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune detailing Broadway shopping between West Temple and Main Streets.

In May 1912, the Auerbach Company petitioned to rename 300 South, between the Rio Grande Depot and State Street, to Broadway Street- after Broadway in New York City.

Proponents wanted “a distinctive name that commands attention.” They wanted visitors who disembarked a train at the Rio Grande Depot to see a grand boulevard of shops and exquisite buildings, complete with electric streetlights.

There was pushback. Nearly 1,500 Salt Lakers signed a protest against the name change. Many didn’t like the idea of deviating from the SLC’s grid system. Others indicated there was already an alley named Broadway (eventually renamed and is now the northernmost section of Regent Street that runs through City Creek Center). The postal workers were especially against the idea.

I was not able to find any documentation of the official change of name, nor what section was designated as Broadway. I searched various online repositories. Presumably, there is some documentation in the paper records at Salt Lake County archives. Regardless, it seems that maps were eventually updated with the new Broadway Street, although even today maps vary on which section of 300 South is Broadway.

Nowadays, it seems that Salt Lake County retains control of street names. According to their data, Broadway is the section of 300 South between 455 West and 549 East.

The signage of Broadway is a little sporadic. My quick field recon showed that primarily the area between the Rio Grande Depot and State Street is signed as Broadway – except for my photo here at the intersection with Shelmerdine Ct (235 E).

Sources:
Salt Lake Telegram 1912-05-29 Pg 10; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-06-18 Pg 6; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-07-06 Pg 7; 

Salt Lake Telegram 1912-07-11 Pg 12; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-11-10 Pg 20; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-11-24 Pg 21; 

SLC Infobase; 

various Sanborn Maps

Angelo Caravaglia's Federal Building statue is a water fountain

Utah artist Angelo Caravaglia's sculpture is up and running as a fountain (Sept 2024).

Located in front of the mid-century modern Wallace F. Bennet Federal Building at 125 S. State St, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Enjoy this 40-second video showing different angles of the fountain.

Here is the link to the history of this fountain.

Artist Ralphael Plescia's Christian School at 1324 S State SLC is nearing demolition

Artist Ralphael Plescia's Christian School at 1324 S State SLC is nearing demolition.

You may have seen the news report that many of his sculptures were removed recently and will be rehomed to the Utah Arts Alliance's Art Castle (the old 15th Ward LDS Church building they purchased and saved from demolition in 2021).

I toured the interior of the Christian School in 2023. Here are some of those images.

The space is divided into 3 levels, which I interpreted roughly as akin to heaven (top), the terrestrial world (main floor), and the underworld (basement, sub-basement dug-out).

My understanding is that the building will be demolished and new apartments will be constructed.

The ownership of the building is a complicated relationship. Ralphael Plescia did not own the building, rather his father owned the building, and in his father's will he arranged for Ralphael to have occupant rights until Ralphael's death. After Ralphael's death in 2022, the ownership of the building went to Shriners Children's Hospital, per his father's will.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported on Aug 4 2023 that developer Colmena Group (via a LLC named 1324 South State, LLC). purchased the property from Shriners, although Ralphael's daughter had attempted to gain ownership.

Many of Plescia's sculptures cannot be removed from the building because they are a part of the building.